In the debut of the 2020-2021 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers took on NL West rival the Colorado Rockies winning three to one.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are exactly where they left off last season. Although the defending champs weren’t able to get the series sweep, they took care of business. Even though the Dodgers had a staggering 14 hit game on Opening Day, they couldn’t find a way to score with runners on base. With multiple scoring opportunities, they made up for it for the remainder of the series winning three to one.
Hot Starts
Trevor Bauer
The most impressive start for the Dodgers this series has to be none other than Trevor Bauer. Fresh off his Cy Young award, Bauer did not miss a beat in his Dodgers debut. After signing his three-year $102M contract this offseason, the new ace flirted with a no hitter through six innings. Bauer’s no hit bid was the longest by a Dodger’s pitcher in the last two seasons. Although the bid ended in the seventh inning after giving up a single to Trevor Story and then a home run to Charlie Blackmon following that, Bauer ended the night with 10 strike outs.
“I got in rhythm with the cutter there in the middle innings. It’s usually my best strike pitch, so not surprised there,” Bauer said. “But the slider was really good tonight, the cutter was really good. I thought the curveball was actually pretty good, too, when I needed it.”
Corey Seager
Corey Seager is a name that baseball fans should be on the look out this season. Coming off a World Series MVP trophy and a hot Spring Training, Seager is ready for a breakout year. The Dodgers short stop has eight hits in a his 12 at bats in the early year. Although Seager hasn’t registered a home run yet, he does have three RBI’s with a .667 batting average as well as scoring four runs and drawing four walks. If Seager continues his stellar play there is no denying that his name should be tied to MVP talks.
Cold Starts
It’s a long season, so there are going to be a few lows for players in a couple series. However, in this opening series two former Cy Young winners did not perform to their capabilities. Coming into the 2020-2021 season, the Dodgers have one of if not the best pitching units in the league. Loaded with talent with names such as Clayton Kershaw, Trevor Bauer, Walker Buehler, Julio Urias and David Price, there is always a chance for a historic performance.
Clayton Kershaw
The Dodger great Clayton Kershaw had his worst opening day performance of his career Thursday afternoon. There was something that was off about Kershaw in his first game of the season. Through the first two innings, Clayton look as his usual self, poised and deliberate with his pitches. However, it was after that second inning where things began to crumble. Although Kershaw did not get any run support and a couple of fielding blunders, he finished the game allowing 10 hits with five runs batted in. He didn’t have full command on his usual strike outs and had a tough time missing bats. Not to mention that his fastball velocity wasn’t entirely there either. The fastest ball Kershaw pitched was 91 MPH. This isn’t a cause of concern as of now but for Kershaw to be fully effective, the fast ball needs to get going.
David Price
After losing the fifth starting spot and being sent to the bullpen, former Cy Young winner David Price looked shaky in his Dodgers debut. Price originally joined the team last season as a part of the Mookie Betts trade. However, he opted to sit out for the 2019-2020 season due to the health and safety for his family. In due time Dodger fans finally got to see the veteran on the mound. Although they were expecting vintage Price to show up, that wasn’t the case.
Price came in relief of Bauer who pitched a phenomenal game despite giving up a two run home run in the seventh. And the Rockies took off where they left off. In Price’s 1 2/3 innings pitched, he allowed back-to-back home runs to go along with five hits and two strike outs. The reason for Price’s rough start could be a result of rust. Although this may be true, there is a whole lot of games left to be played and bunch of opportunities for Price to get his rhythm going.
Unexpected Events
With spectacular plays, comes the fair share of “how did that happen moments”. For the starters the Dodgers-Rockies series had a couple of those.
Bellinger Homer Called Back
Right off the bat, on opening day what looked to be Cody Bellinger’s first homer of the season was called back with controversy. The reason being is that Justin Turner ran back to first base with Bellinger passing him. The result of the mistake ended up being single with Cody out. Skipper Dave Roberts argued the call that because the ball already went over, it should count as a home run. However, according to the rules thats not how it works. A lack of communication cost the Dodgers a run.
Cat Attack
In the bottom of the eighth inning with the Dodgers up 11-6, both teams had a short break due to a furry friend.
A cat randomly stormed through the field stalling play between the Dodgers and the Rockies. With the crowd cheering on the cat as he pranced around, all thoughts were of Tony Gonoslin who is the “Cat Man”. Shortly after, field attendants took care of the cat and the game continued.
Zach McKinstry First Career Home Run
Whenever a big leaguer hits his first career home run it’s always a memorable one. For Zach McKinstry though it was quite a moment for him. Instead of a usual outside the park homer, his came via a inside the park. With the score tied at four a piece in the top of the eighth, McKinstry came up to bat as a pinch hitter. After raking it towards left field, Ramiel Tapia attempted to rob Zach. Instead it came to his mistake as when they ball was in the glove, it came back in fair play once Tapia made contact with the wall. As a result, McKinstry turned on the jets for his first major league home run breaking the tie at five to four.
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